02: Searching for Missing Pups! …Or So I Thought, but They’re Part of the Family Now?!

“I am ashamed of my behavior.”

Seriously. That certainly wasn’t the kind of dreadful state any good boy or girl would want to be seen in.

“It hasn’t been much time since Shiro and Kuro went missing. For now, let’s split up and call out their names. In the meantime, I will send Bal and Redarmor to send a message to the other clans.”

“Arf! (Gotcha! We should just call their names while searching for them?)”

“Thank you. I assume their goal was to meet the king. If they hear your voice, they will surely appear.”

Great. Time to start the mission.

“Wait just a minute.”

Eep?! I jump in fright at the sudden address from behind me.

“Mgh— You…the human woman…! Since when have you been there?!”

Garo, who leaped backward, stares at Zenobia with caution.

“Um, I’ve been walking behind you the whole time.”

“What…?! You were at our backs without the Fen Wolves detecting your presence…?!”

I always knew Zenobia had it in her. The woman is wilder than the Fen Wolves. Pretty crazy that she could creep behind natural-born hunters. Did she get born as the wrong species or something?

“I didn’t understand what Routa was saying,” says Zenobia, “but I figured most of it out from his conversation with you. You have companions named Shiro and Kuro, and they’ve gone missing, right?”

“Yes, but…what does that have to do with you?” Garo frowns in suspicion.

Zenobia puts a hand to her chest and answers, “I’ll help you look. I’m a former adventurer, after all. I’m great at exploring forests.”

“But why? This has nothing to do with your kind. I had thought greedy humans could only act according to their own good…”

The Fen Wolves seem to harbor a grudge against humans, and there’s a danger in her attitude even toward Zenobia. Zenobia can probably sense that, but she steps forward instead of shrinking away.

“We’re already collaborating with one another. And I cannot feign ignorance when I see someone in need.”

“Hmm. It’s true that the more we have searching the better… But let me ask you this, human female. Can your two legs keep pace with the Fen Wolves?”

“Arf. (Oh, that won’t be a problem.)”

After all, she once ran all the way from here to the sacred mountain in the far north in a single night. Her leg strength is on par with the Fen Wolves’. She’s sure to put in the kind of work worthy of her Gorillanobia name.

“If you so decree, my king…”

“Hey, I don’t know what he just said, but I bet it was something rude.”

I didn’t say anything! I only thought it in my head.

“Arf, arf. (Let’s get searching, then. Zenobia, let’s go together.)”

If we left Zenobia alone, with her almighty bad sense of direction, we’re sure to have a third missing person case on our hands.

“Awooooooo! (Meeeeeeeiiiiiii— Er, wait, Shirooo! Kurooo! Where are you?!)”

“Meoooooooooooooooow! (Please come oooooooout! Everyone’s worried about you!)”

“Squeeeaaaak! (If you come out now, I don’t think your mother will scold you that much!)”

We search for Shiro and Kuro as we weave through the forest.

Garo and the others returned to recruit volunteers from the clans and put together a search team, and I think they’ve already started searching outward in every direction. I thought the Fen Wolves, with their good senses of smell, would find them in no time if they really tried, but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s located them yet.

We, on the other hand, wouldn’t be able to work alongside trained Fen Wolves—in fact, we decided we’d be a hindrance. Now we’re scouring the forest haphazardly in a separate group.

“What’s wrong, Routa? Use your nose already. Sniff them out.”

Umm, Zenobia, please don’t ask the impossible. This Fenrir body might be high-spec, but the soul inside is just the low-spec me. There are so many different varieties of smell coming into my nose. Do you really think I can pull off something as advanced as isolating Shiro’s and Kuro’s scents?

“Stupid mutt…”

“Arf! (Thank you so much for the compliment!)”

That’s right. I am not the Fen Wolf King, Fenrir, but a single stupid dog. Zenobia really gets me!

“Ugh. Why are you wagging your tail around like you’re happy…?!”

“Arwf… (I get the feeling that maybe I do smell something in this direction, I think…)”

It’s pretty much just a gut instinct, but I think I can sense Shiro’s and Kuro’s smells in the direction we’re headed now. Maybe, I think, possibly.

“Squeak. (That is quite vague.)”

“Woof! (Then you search! You get down on the ground and sniff! Sometimes dirt gets up my nostrils and it really stings!)”

“Squeak. (Dragons don’t have such excellent noses.)”

“Woof?! (What about Nahura?!)”

“Meow. (Unfortunately, I am no more than a homunculus in cat form, so my sense of smell is not particularly extraordinary.)”

Y-you’re all useless…!

“Hm! Is that what you were following? Found them!”

And why does Zenobia’s nose work even better than mine?! She’s never even met Shiro and Kuro, so how could she possibly sniff them out? You definitely got born as the wrong species.

“Let’s go! Follow me!”

“Woof, woof! (Right, right!)”

Talk about a reversal of leadership. Go, Zenobi-One! Guide us to where Shiro and Kuro are!

When we follow Zenobia, who has started to run, we hear the whispering of a river.

“This is…” Zenobia stops at the riverbed. “The scent ends here…”

“Squeak…? (Could the children have gone into the water…?)”

You can’t be serious. The water level may be low, but it’s more than enough to wash them away, given how small they are.

“Grwl! (My king, there you are!)”

“Woof? (Oh, Garo, you’re here, too?)”

Garo, who has returned to wolf form, runs along the river to us.

“Grwl, grwl… (Sir! We arrived here after tracking their scent, but river water washes scents away…)”

“Woof, woof. (Not good. Maybe we’d better search downstream.)”

“Grwl. (Sir, I’ve already sent several wolves that way, but I believe the possibility of that is low.)”

“Arwf? (Is it?)”

“Grwl. (My daughters are Fen Wolves themselves. They wouldn’t have been drowned and washed away by such a calm river. I did not raise them to be so fragile.)”

“Woof. (I see. That’s a relief, at least.)”

“Grwl, grwl. (Yes, sir. The river is usually higher at this time, but we were fortunate. We’ll expand our search from this location. My king, if you would, please continue searching independently. There are sure to be many things we Fen Wolves would not notice.)”

“Woof. (Got it. We’ll go to the other side of the river, then.)”

“Grwl! (Yes! Thank you, my king!)”

Garo lowers her head, then calls her Fen Wolves together. As far as I can tell from the way she quickly and clearly explains the change in plans, she seems calm. Even with her daughters missing, she’s still been calmly analyzing the situation, delivering precise instructions to her subordinates.

“Arf… (No…)”

It’s only on the surface. Garo’s tail is drooping, limp, flitting from side to side restlessly. There’s no way she wouldn’t be worried about her daughters’ disappearance.

“Arf, arf. (We’ve gotta find them fast.)”

I dip my toes in the river water. It’s not too deep. Only up to Zenobia’s shins, about. Garo’s right: They wouldn’t have ever drowned in this. Still, with early autumn approaching, the river water is cold. A child’s small body would probably catch a chill quickly. And if they stayed wet, they ran the risk of getting sick.

“Woof, woof! (Okay, let’s hurry!)” I pump myself up again and slosh into the river.

“Yip! (Eek! It’s so cold!)”

What? We have to cross this river? But it’s freezing! It’s impossible! We should take a detour!

“What are you doing?! Get a move on!”

I look and see Zenobia has long since crossed the river. She’s totally into this.

“Mew. (Stare.)”

“Squeak. (Stare.)”

What are you looking at me like that for? You two have it so nice! All you do is ride on top of me! Dogs being strong against cold? That’s a myth! I know this is gonna be icy.

“Arrrwww… (Urr… It’s cold, it’s so cold…)”

I trot across to the other side of the river, and by the time I reach Zenobia, I’m freezing all over.

“Arwrwrwr… (S-s-s-so cold…)”

“What am I going to do with you…?”

Unable to watch me shiver anymore, Zenobia takes a small leather pouch from the bag on her waist.

“Drink it a little at a time. It’ll warm you up.”

I lick up the droplets dripping from the proffered pouch.

“Arwf… (Wow, that’s so sweet…)”

Is this brandy? The heat in my throat hits the spot, and then it spreads from my stomach to the rest of my body. Zenobia’s bag is almost like magic, huh?

“I mixed it with maple syrup to make it easier to drink. It’s higher proof than you might think. Don’t have so much. You’ll get drunk.”

“Meow! (I got pretty cold, too!)”

“Squeak! (And I—and I!)”

Hey! You two aren’t even wet! No fair!

Snatching it back and forth, we polish off the rest of the sweet brandy.

“Well, well. You drank the whole thing. Not drunk, are you?”

“Woof! (I’m totally fine!)”

A Fenrir body’s liver is still Fenrir-class. With my body all nice and warm, I feel like I could start running right away.

“Let’s get back to the search!”

“Woof! (Got it!)”

“A-arwf… (We… We’ve looked everywhere…)”

After that, we run around the forest searching for Shiro and Kuro, but they’re nowhere to be found.

“Hrm. If we go any farther south than this, we’ll end up at the mansion.”

If we go even farther, we’ll find a small village and some homes, too.

“We’d definitely have to get the wolves’ help if we were going to include the human village in our search…”

But if we had the Fen Wolves look around the human village, everyone would be panicking, shouting that there were monsters. Not everyone in the world is going to be blind. It’s just that the people at the mansion are special. In that case, we would have to search with only Zenobia and the people from the elves’ village. If Shiro and Kuro headed for the human village, we’re done for. We clearly lack the manpower.

“Let’s search the mansion as well, just in case,” says Zenobia. “And we should eat something. We won’t get much done if we’re exhausted.”

I look up to see that the sky is already reddish orange. The delightful scents of dinner are drifting from the mansion. We’ve been out since this afternoon, so I haven’t played with the young ladies at all. I hope they’re not worried.

“Arwf. (We walked a lot… That tired me out.)”

We leave the forest and come out into the old man’s fields. As always, the vegetables are way bigger than they have any right to be. With squash that big, you could make a carriage. They don’t even lose flavor because of it, which is what’s amazing. Apparently, the Fenrir urine is still fortifying the soil. We probably won’t want for vegetables in the near future. Maybe we could give some to the elves’ village.

Once we pass through the fields, we decide to stop by the stable where Mare and the others are.

“Woof, woof. (Heya, Mr., Mrs., and Mare. Doing well?)”

“Neigh. (Hello, Mr. Wolf. Yes, yes—it is still far too soon for us to be ferried away.)”

“Whicker. (Ever since Mare came, I feel young again. I’m not about to give up my wagon pulling to anyone!)”

“Neeeigh. (Eh-heh-heh. I sure hope you both live long lives.)”

The horses poke their heads out of the stable and greet us in turn.

“Woof, woof? (By the way, have you seen any small wolves around here? A white one and a black one?)”

I know they’re not here, but we may as well ask, right?

“Neigh. (Yes, we did.)”

“Woof… (Oh well, thanks anyway… I didn’t expect you to, but—What?! You did?!)”

“Neeeigh. (Why yes! They were quite bouncy. Although it seems they didn’t like our carrots very much.)”

Mare and the others shared their snacks with them, huh? Still, that’s tough—giving wolves raw carrots. That’s a cultural barrier, so forgive them.

Wait, that’s not important right now.

“Woof, woof? (Do you know where they went?)”

“Whicker. (After they played here for a time, they headed for the mansion. It wasn’t too long ago.)”

For real? Then if we hurry, we can catch them.

“Arwf! (Thanks! That really helps!)”

“Neeeigh. (Not at all. Please tell them we said hello.)”

I thank Mare and the others and point my nose toward the mansion.

“What were you talking about?” Zenobia is tilting her head to the side, having not understood what we were saying.

“Arwf! (Just that we know where Shiro and Kuro are now. Let’s go, Zenobia!)”

“H-hey! What are you running away for?!”

We hurry and dash for the mansion.

Once it comes into view, we can hear delighted voices coming from the courtyard. The cute, high-pitched voices belong to Lady Mary and Drills.

“Arwf! (Hup!)” I give a mighty leap over the high mansion wall and land in the yard.

And there…

“They’re very fluffy. They look just like Routa when he was little.”

…are Lady Mary, who is holding Shiro…

“This black one is adorable as well.”

…and Drills, petting Kuro.

Neither Shiro nor Kuro seems to be hurt or tired, and they’re innocently letting the two girls play with them.

“Hee-hee. That tickles!” Lady Mary laughs as Shiro licks her cheek.

“Lick, lick! (This one smells a lot like Daddy!)”

“Lick, lick! (So does this female! They must sleep together every night to smell this much like him!)”

“Lick, lick! (Well, how dare they! I’ll lick him away from them!)”

“Lick, lick! (We’ll make them smell like us instead!)”

I thought they were busy being pampered, but I was completely wrong. It is true, though, that ever since Drills came to stay here, I’ve been sleeping sandwiched between the two of them. That’s enough to make any scent sink in.

“Arwf! (Wait, that’s not important!)”

“Squeak. (Indeed. First, we must give them a good scolding.)”

Yeah, let’s really let them have it.

“Woof, woof!! (Hey, you two!!)”

I raise my voice at the baby wolves, who don’t even understand they’ve done something wrong.

“Woof, woof!! (It’s not fair for you two to hog all the licking!! Not even I’ve ever licked them like that before!!)”

“Squeak! (That’s not what you should be angry about!)”

“Meow? (Routa never changes, huh?)”

Huh? Wait, could this be my chance? Couldn’t I join the group and lick Lady Mary with them? Is this my first ever licky-licky opportunity?!

“Woo! (Oh, it’s Daddy!)”

“Woo, woo! (Daddy! Daddy!)”

I’m not your father. I’m your king. Actually, I’m not that, either, but still.

““Woo, woo! (Daddyyy!!)””

Shiro and Kuro jump down from the two girls and bolt straight for me.

“Arwf…! (Wait, just stay like that for another minute, so I can…!)”

That was the perfect chance to give the girls some licks!

“Woo, woo! (Daddy! We came to see you, Daddy!)”

“Woo, woo! (We did our best to come here! Are you proud?)”

Wagging their tails so hard they might come off, Shiro and Kuro look at me with sparkles in their eyes.

I look down at them and answer haughtily:

“Woof! (I am not!)”

““Woo…? (Huh…?)”” Shiro’s and Kuro’s ears droop.

“Woof, woof! (Fwa-ha-ha! I’ve had much greater adventures than you two have! I even crossed a really cold river!)”

“Squeak…? (Why compete with children…?)” Len retorts, but Shiro’s and Kuro’s ears stick up again, and they wag their tails.

“Woo, woo! (Daddy, you’re so great!)”

“Woo, woo! (Shiro and Kuro had to turn around! We couldn’t get through the cold! But you crossed it! That’s amazing!)”

Right? Right?! You can say that again!

Wait, you two turned back? Well, you missed out!

“I don’t know what it is you’re talking about, but I can tell it’s something dumb…”

H-how could you get all that from just “Woof, woof”?! I get the feeling Zenobia’s instincts have gotten sharper. Please go back to being a useless lump.

“But there’s little doubt these two are Shiro and Kuro. Why, their fur matches their names. What a cheap way of naming them.”

My bad. I’m the namer.

“Woo! (Hey, don’t make fun of the names Daddy gave us! You’re really rude, lady!)”

“Woo! (I’ll bite you! Om nom nom!)”

“Wh-what’s this? You want me to hold you? Heh-heh. You’re very friendly.”

No, they’re showing you nothing but hostility right now. Zenobia, who can’t understand them, peels their teeth off her boots and lifts them both into her arms.

“Woo! (Stop it! I don’t like you!)”

“Woo! (Huh?! This female has the same scent as Daddy, too!)”

“Woo! (Really? It’s even thicker than on the females from before!)”

Oh, that’s probably because of the stuffed animal Zenobia has.

The thing is stuffed full of my fur. And she keeps it in her cleavage 24-7, so she must really smell like me now.

“Woo, woo! (I’ll lick it off you! I’ll lick it off you!)”

“Hey— What— Where do you think you’re licking?! That tickles— Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Damn you both! I have nothing but envy. Let me in.

“Squeak? (More importantly, shouldn’t we inform the mother that her daughters are safe?)”

“Arwf. (Whoops! You’re right.)”

I give a howl high into the sky.

As if in response, several howls come back in sequence from afar, with my information getting to the distant Garo. The Fen Wolves are the forest’s hunters, and they have the speed of information transmission to match. I only howled the way I’d been taught to, but it looks like it went well.

After a few moments, Garo arrives at a ferocious speed.

“Grwl! (Shiro! Kuro! Are you all right?!)”

“Wow! Now a big black puppy dog is here, too!”

Oh crap, it surprised my lady. But she’s as blind as ever. Her eyes seem to be perfectly perceiving Garo as a dog.

“Yes, that certainly is a grand-looking dog. How beautiful…”

And Lady Mary’s friend deserves mention, too. She’s got the same level of blindness.

“Woo! (Oh! It’s Mommy!)”

“Woo! (Mommy!)”

Shiro and Kuro jump from Zenobia’s arms—she’s collapsed to the ground already—and run over to Garo.

“Grwl… (You look fine…)”

Garo sighs in relief.

It’s a little late to mention it, but Garo takes a formal, polite tone with her children. Maybe it’s so they don’t learn any strange word choices.

Still, as far as I’ve seen, it hasn’t been working much.

“Grrr… (You understand what happens now, right? Mommy told you to be obedient and stay at home. I know you know the punishment for going against that…)”

““W-woo! (W-we’re sorry! Mommy!)””

“Grwl! (No, I will not forgive this. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused? Well, you will have plenty of time to think it over!)”

““Wooo! (Nooo! Help us! Daddy!)””

The baby wolves run away from the barking Garo and cling to my feet.

“Arwf. (Well, they’re safe and sound, so go easy on them, all right? You don’t need to be extra angry at them for my sake.)”

Children are invincible beings equipped with perpetual motion devices and acceleration features, so there’s no point trying to get them to sit still. She should have taken them along with her instead of having them stay at home.

“Woo! (Daddy! You’re so nice! I love you!)”

Shiro and Kuro rub up against me.

“Grwl… (Now you’re making me out to be the villain… Shiro, Kuro, I’m so glad you’re safe…)”

Garo, anger quelled, walks over and brings her face to Shiro’s and Kuro’s.

“They’re so close with one another…! I bet these children are her family…!”

Drills, watching over us, is moved.

“Would that mean this black dog is Routa’s wife? And not only does he have a wife, he’s had children as well…?”

Huh?

Upon hearing Drills’s words, Lady Mary is flabbergasted.

“W-wait, really? Routa, is that true…?”

Huh? What?

I feel a misunderstanding barreling toward us like an avalanche.

“W-woof, woof! (No, that’s not it, Lady Mary! I don’t have any dependents! My beloved family is Papa and you and everyone at the mansion, and that’s it! These are my friends, just friends!)”

Please don’t remove me from your list of family members, please! I still want you all to raise meeeeeeeeeeee!

“Woo? (Daddy, you’re not our Daddy?)”

“Woo? (Really?)”

“A-arw… (Errr…)”

No, not even if you look at me with those cute round eyes! I’m still a puppy, only a few months old! Stop trying to make me take responsibility!

“Grwl, grwl. (Shiro, Kuro, you mustn’t do that. His Majesty is our liege, not your father.)”

Oh! Garo is backing me up! Thanks a million. Go ahead, tell them what our actual relationship is. Tell them we’re not related by blood, so they should stop calling me their father.

“Grwl, grwl. (Stop addressing the king as if he is your father.)”

Yes, that’s right. Stop that.

“Grwl, grwl… (The reason being…)”

Yes, the reason being!

“…grwl, grwl. (…that it is essential that all Fen Wolves become His Majesty’s wives.)”

Yes, that all Fen Wolves should be my— Urk!!

That’s totally wrong! I thought you were backing me up, but you weren’t! That wasn’t support fire—you just tossed a grenade at me!

“Grwl, grwl. (And when you two grow up, you will one day be wives to the king as well. However, you cannot be his wives if he is your father and you his children. Are you okay with that?)”

““Whine! (No! Daddy… We want to be Daddy’s wives!)””

Shiro and Kuro have, unfortunately, been promoted from “daughters” to “potential wives.”

How is that supposed to make me happy? I’m not a furry, and I don’t need any wives! I’ve already decided I’ll live as a pet in this mansion anyway. Having a family of my own is out of the question.

“Woof, woof! (Isn’t that right, Lady Mary?! I’ll be your baby forever! You’ll never demand that I move in with a wife because I had children, right?!)”

I turn around and search for Lady Mary to agree.

“Routa, this is…!”

She puts a hand to her mouth and looks at me.

“A-arwf…?! (Oh… Oh no, not you too…! Do you mean to say I’m a failure as a pet?!)”

I’m innocent… I swear, I’m innocent…! These aren’t my daughters or potential wives—they’re just friends! I haven’t done a single thing I need to be embarrassed about!

“…!”

Lady Mary, oblivious to my desperate argument, suddenly turns around and starts running toward the mansion.

“Arrrrrrrrrrrwwwwwwf! (Lady Mary, waaaaaaait! Don’t get rid of meeeeeeeeee!)”

My outstretched front legs shiver and quake and eventually give out.

It’s over. My pet life is all over…

Will I have to live as a wild Fen Wolf King from now on…? Will I never go back to being a pet puppy dog…?

Flat on my face, I cry a river of tears, and then eventually I hear a lively voice from inside the mansion.

“Father! Father! Quick! Come quick!”

“Hey, what’s going on now, Mary? I’m in the middle of work…”

“But you have to come!”

“All right, all right. You don’t need to pull on me. Ha-ha-ha…ha?”

When Papa comes out behind Lady Mary, he’s struck speechless at the sight of Garo and the others.

“Is…? Could this be…?”

Ahh, now Papa is looking our way all surprised. Does even Papa think I’m a stupid, irresponsible dog now? There is no hope left. They’re going to get rid of me. I’ll be abandoned, and then I’ll have to be the Fen Wolf King.

“Has Routa made a new family?!”

“That’s right, Father! And they’re our family, too!”

Huh? That’s…not exactly how I expected them to react. They both seem to be overjoyed.

“Well, we can’t just stand here. The bed in Mary’s room might be a little small. Let’s order a new special-made one posthaste.”

“They might be hungry, too! We’ll have to ask Mr. James for food!”

“Oh, yes! How wonderful! There is no greater joy than gaining new family members!”

Wait…what? It doesn’t look like they’ll get rid of me, but I didn’t think they’d be so forward and accepting about it.

“Routa! Looks like you’re quite the playboy, eh?”

Playboy? But I’m still pure—and that includes my past life. I try to argue the point as Papa pats me on the back, but my words don’t get across, of course.

“I want to take a bath with everyone, too! I’ll have the maids prepare the large bathtub!”

“That is a good idea!”

The young ladies are over the moon as they prepare to take in Garo and the others.

“Arwf? (Uhh, so that’s a thing. Did you three want to be part of the mansion?)”

I have no intention of raising them, but it’s fine if we’re all raised together.

“Grwl. (No, Lord Routa. I must humbly decline.)”

Garo, however, takes Shiro and Kuro and backs away. Her eyes are quiet but filled with an unmovable denial. Perhaps having sensed that rejection, the two young ladies quiet down as well and watch.

“Grwl, grwl. (I have nothing but respect for you, Your Majesty. However, I cannot forgive humankind.)”

“Woof, woof. (I see. Well, that’s fine. You can live in the forest, and I’ll live at the mansion. I’ll come to visit. With Len and Nahura.)”

Garo nods and turns around.

““Woo! (Daddy! See you soon!)””

“Grwl. (And you two are getting a talking-to when we get back.)”

“Woo! (Mommy, noooo!)”

Mother and children leave toward the setting sun.

“They’ll be together, even if they live apart…! How splendid…! How beautiful…!”

Drills has taken it upon herself to be touched.

They really just kind of left normally. They’ll probably show up again at some point. I doubt those rambunctious little kids will want to stay put in the forest.

“Routa has children already, huh… I wonder when I’ll have to start thinking about that sort of thing…”

“They sure were adorable. They reminded me of Routa when he was little.”

I was little only a short time ago. I don’t think it’s something you can get that nostalgic about.

“Err, actually, Lady Mary, Lady Elizabeth, they do not seem to be Routa’s wife and children.”

Zenobia tries to clear up the misunderstanding for me.

“Arwf… (Thanks, Zenobia. But maybe if you’d explained at an earlier stage, I wouldn’t be this wiped out now…)”

Exhausted, I can only go back for fifths during dinner.

I’ll eat more tomorrow!